An audio/video data recording/reproducing device has been introduced that records by compression, moving pictures and still pictures on a recording medium such as an optical disk or the like. Moving pictures are recorded in a format of an MPEG file consisting of an MPEG system stream by MPEG-2 (system) compression defined in ISO/IEC 13818-1. Still pictures are recorded in a format of a JPEG file after being subjected to JPEG compression. A video signal in the MPEG file is compressed according to the MPEG-2 (Video) standard defined in ISO/IEC 13818-3, while an audio signal is subjected to MPEG-1 Layer 2 compression, MPEG-2 ACC (Advanced Audio Cording), AC3 compression or the like and arranged in the MPEG system stream.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a conventional audio/video data recording/reproducing device. A switching operation allows a user to perform recording of moving pictures input from a video signal input part 100 and an audio signal input part 101 and further to perform recording of transport streams input from a 1394 interface part 121. When recording a video signal and an audio signal of a moving picture, the signals input from the video signal input part 100 and the audio signal input part 101 are compressed in a video compressing part 104 and an audio compressing part 105, respectively. Then, a transport stream is created in a transport stream assembling part 106 and written on a phase change optical disk 140 via a recording part 107 and a pickup 141. Meanwhile, a video signal of a still picture input from the video signal input part 100 is written on the phase change optical disk 140 via a still picture compressing part 108, the recording part 107 and the pickup 141. These operations are controlled by a recording controlling part 230. Management of an MPEG file and a JPEG file that are to be recorded is performed according to the UDF (Universal Disk Format) file system. When a command to record an MPEG transport stream (MPEG-TS) from the 1394 interface part 121 is issued, a 1394 recording controlling part 233 records the transport stream input from the exterior through the 1394 interface part 121 on the phase change optical disk 140 through the recording part 107 and the pickup 141.
When reproducing a video signal and an audio signal of a moving picture, a transport stream extracted via the pickup 141 and a reproducing part 116 is separated into a video packet and an audio packet in a transport stream disassembling part 114. The video packet is decoded into a video signal in a video expanding part 112. Further, (when a command for simultaneously reproducing a still picture is issued) the video signal is synthesized with a video signal of the still picture in a synthesizing part 117, and the resultant signal is output to a video displaying part 110. The audio packet is decoded into an audio signal in an audio expanding part 113 and then output to an audio output part 111. Meanwhile, when reproducing a video signal of a still picture, a JPEG file extracted via the pickup 141 and the reproducing part 116 is transmitted through a still picture expanding part 118. Further, (when a command for simultaneously reproducing a moving picture is issued) the JPEG file is synthesized with a video signal of the moving picture in the synthesizing part 117, and the resultant signal is output to the video displaying part 110. The synthesizing part 117 synthesizes the video signal of an MPEG file with a video signal of the JPEG file by superimposition. When a reproduction command is issued with respect only to one of these pictures, these signals are not synthesized and only one of them is output. These operations are controlled by a reproduction controlling part 231. Further, a reproduction controlling part 232 for a recorder has, in addition to a function of the reproduction controlling part 231, a function of outputting a transport stream through an output timing generating part 120 and the 1394 interface part 121. The output timing generating part 120 computes a buffer occupying amount of a T-STD (Transport Stream Target Decoder) to determine transmission timing with respect to each transport packet.
Furthermore, according to conditions set by a user, the reproduction controlling part 231 and the reproduction controlling part 232 for a recorder allow a moving picture file and a still picture file to be displayed in superimposed relationship in a common screen at arbitrary timing and in arbitrary sizes, respectively. The set conditions are preserved on the phase change optical disk 140 in a text file format based on SMIL (Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language) language that has been under the process of standardization by W3C (World Wide Web Consortium).
An analog interface part 122 is provided for outputting analog video and analog audio to an external device when video and audio are output to the video displaying part 110 and the audio output part 111, respectively.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a connection mode between an audio/video data recording/reproducing device 250 shown in FIG. 2 and a digital TV 300. The digital TV 300 is composed of a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) 301, an STB (Set Top Box) 302 and an AV-HDD (Hard Disk Drive for Audio/Video use) 303. The audio/video data recording/reproducing device 250, the STB 302 and the AV-HDD 303 are connected to each other through an IEEE 1394 network 306. The STB 302 decodes a broadcasting radio wave and a transport stream received from the IEEE 1394 network 306 and outputs a video signal and an audio signal. The CRT 301 displays the video signal and the audio signal that are output by the STB 302. The AV-HDD 303 records the transport stream received from the IEEE 1394 network 306, and conversely, transmits a transport stream to the IEEE 1394 network 306.
According to the connection mode that has been employed, when viewing a recorded moving picture, the conventional audio/video data recording/reproducing device 250 is connected to the CRT 301 with an analog output cable 304. When recording a moving picture signal output by the STB 302, the STB 302 is connected to the audio/video data recording/reproducing device 250 with an analog input cable 305, in which the connection is established to the video signal input part and the audio signal input part. Further, when connecting a recorded moving file to the AV-HDD 303 via a digital interface, the audio/video data recording/reproducing device 250 is connected to the IEEE 1394 network 306 with a 1394 cable.
The conventional audio/video data recording/reproducing device 250 has presented the following problem. That is, in the audio/video data recording/reproducing device 250, since outputs of digital interfaces such as an IEEE 1394 and the like are limited to recorded contents consisting of a moving picture file alone, files resulting from synthesization of a moving picture file with a still picture file and still pictures only can be viewed via the video displaying part 110 and the analog interface part 122 that are provided in the audio/video data recording/reproducing device.
Thus, the ease of handling the device has been impaired substantially in the following point. That is, when viewing recorded contents of the files resulting from synthesization of a moving picture file with a still picture file and the still pictures on the digital TV 300, it is required that the connection between the audio/video data recording/reproducing device 250 and the digital TV 300 be established through an analog interface. On the other hand, when transmitting the recorded contents to the AV-HDD 303 housed in the digital TV 300 and a personal computer for the purposes of image editing and the like, it is required that the connection be established through a digital interface.
Furthermore, when using the digital interface, the digital TV 300 easily can recognize an audio/video device connected to the 1394 network 306 by utilizing the distributed network technology such as HAVi (Home Audio Video interoperability), Jini or the like. On the contrary, when using the analog interface, it is required that a user manually perform an input port switching operation or the like, which has been disadvantageous.